Progressive Movement

The progressive movement (1901-17) was a response to political and big business abuses at the turn of the twentieth century. People in different walks of life participated in the reform process and tried to reform the capitalistic society.

The American civil war (1861-65) had made United States one of the greatest industrial powers of the west. The rapid growth of big business and cities led to lot of social problems. While the captains of the big industries reaped huge profits, common people were exploited. Many Americans came forward to halt the rising tide of exploitation due rapid industrialization and introduce reforms.
The end of 19th century, witnessed a host of reformers who wanted to reform the American society from its ills. Their view was socialistic in nature. Reforms were made by individuals, city, state and national levels. The people wanted a strong intervention from the Federal government as well as progress in social welfare.
Some of the important reforms of the period were the following:
Social Reforms:
Jane Adams was great social reformer who founded the settlement house movement known as the Hull House in Chicago. Margaret Sanger educated the urban poor regarding birth control and family planning. Booker T. Washington tried to develop the skills of the African Americans by giving them education. W.E Dubois, inorder to get the equal treatment for the African Americans, encouraged the education of the liberal arts. Muckrakers were the members of the press who fought against corruption and abuses of the political tycoons.
City Reforms:
Progressives tried to prevent the urban corruption and it resulted in the reorganization of the local governments
State Reforms
The reforms of the states were encouraged by governors and Populist Party. Some of the important reforms include secret ballot, initiative, referendum, recall etc.
Federal Reforms:
Federal government passed a series of legislations connected with the environment, past laws, health and tried to reform the capitalist society.
Amendments:
Series of landmark amendments were passed during the progressive era. These were 16th, 17th, 18th and 19 amendments.
Temperance and Women suffrage movements were of utmost importance during this period.
Failures of Progressive movement:
Inspite of all the above reforms, the progressive era was a dark period in the history of African Americans. There committed atrocities against the black community in the south. Progressives did not address the problems of the blacks in America. Disfranchisement and segregation were some of the notable events of the period.
Finally, the progressives had no common goals to solve the ills of the society.

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The progressive movement (1901-17) was a response to political and big business abuses at the turn of the twentieth century. People in different walks of life participated in the reform process and tried to reform the capitalistic society.

The American civil war (1861-65) had made United States one of the greatest industrial powers of the west. The population of the country was 76 million at that time. The rapid growth of big business and cities led to lot of social problems. While the captains of the big industries reaped huge profits, common people were exploited. Many Americans came forward to halt the rising tide of exploitation due rapid industrialization and introduce ...

Solution Summary

This solution explains about the progressive era. The progressive movement (1901-17) was a response to political and big business abuses at the turn of the twentieth century. When America was industrialized rapidly, there arose political as well big business abuses. A host of reformers government and individuals came forward to reform the society. Many landmark amendments were passed along the rising tide of reforms. Inspite of all the tempo of these reforms, the era has many failures.